Irish Euro 2016 Qualification Campaign
- Group D

The Republic of Ireland
was drawn as a second seed in Group D of the Euro 2016 qualification competition.
The finals will be held in France. The Irish would have to prevail against
top seeds and World Champions Germany,
as well as Scotland,
Poland, Georgia
and newcomers Gibraltar,
to qualify automatically for the 2016 Euro Championship finals.

It was not the worst outcome
for new Irish managerMartin O'Neill
and his assistant Roy
Keane however Scotland and Poland would provide stiff opposition for
the second automatic qualification place. O'Neill's initial reaction to
the draw was that it was a "difficult" group.

Ireland and Germany were
pitted against each other in the 2014 World
Cup qualifiers with the Germans winning both group matches by an aggregate
score of 9-1. Ireland last encountered Georgia during the 2010
World Cup qualifiers during the Giovanni
Trapattoni reign as Republic of Ireland manager. Ireland won both
home and away matches by a 2-1 score line.

The last time Ireland played
Scotland in a competitive match was a 1-0 win in Hampden Park during the
Euro 1988 qualifiers. Mark
Lawrenson scored the winning goal which was crucial to Ireland's breakthrough
qualification for the Euro 1988 finals
in Germany, under the guidance of manager Jack
Charlton. The 1992 Euro qualifiers saw
Ireland play Poland in their last competitive meetings. Both matches ended
in a draw with Ireland surrendering a two goal lead in the last 15 minutes
of the match in Poland.

Gibraltar had not been
eligible to participate in previous European Championship qualifiers so
Ireland and Gibraltar had never met before.

On the day (23 February
2014) of the draw for the Euro 2016 qualification groups the World rankings
of the teams drawn in Group D were as follows:

Germany

2nd

Scotland

34th

Republic of Ireland

67th

Poland

70th

Georgia

103rd

Gibraltar

N/A

For the first time the
fixture list was determined by the demands of the major European TV companies
with qualifying matches spread over six days rather than being played
on just Fridays and Tuesdays.

Ireland's Fixtures & Results for Euro
2016 Qualification

Date

Home

Away

7 Sep
2014

Georgia

1 - 2

Republic of Ireland

11
Oct 2014

Republic
of Ireland

7 - 0

Gibraltar

14
Oct 2014

Germany

1 - 1

Republic of Ireland

14
Nov 2014

Scotland

1 - 0

Republic
of Ireland

29
Mar 2015

Republic of Ireland

1 - 1

Poland

13
Jun 2015

Republic
of Ireland

1 - 1

Scotland

4 Sep
2015

Gibraltar

0 - 4

Republic of Ireland

7
Sep 2015

Republic
of Ireland

1 - 0

Georgia

8 Oct
2015

Republic of Ireland

1 - 0

Germany

11
Oct 2015

Poland

2 - 1

Republic
of Ireland

Euro 2016 Qualifying Campaign - Group
Table

Euro 2016 - Qualifying
Group D - Latest Standings

Nation

Played

Won

Drew

Lost

Goals F

Goals A

Points

Germany

10

7

1

2

24

9

22

Poland

10

6

3

1

33

10

21

Republic
of Ireland

10

5

3

2

19

7

18

Scotland

10

4

3

3

22

12

15

Georgia

10

3

0

7

10

16

9

Gibraltar

10

0

0

10

2

56

0

Euro 2016 Qualifying Campaign Results

Republic of Ireland v Georgia
- 7 Sep 2015

A half-full Aviva
Stadium saw Ireland grind out a narrow 1-0 win over Georgia. The
Georgians had beaten Scotland in the previous Friday and came to
Dublin with a degree of confidence. After a nervy and sterile first
half the Irish began the second half at a higher tempo causing the
Georgians more problems in the first ten minutes than in the whole
of the first half. A brilliant piece of skill from Jeff Hendrick
saw him beat three defenders and then cross for Jonathan Walters
to score from close range. This 1-0 victory was further enhanced
as Scotland lost 2-3 against Germany in Hampden thus leaving Ireland
in third place in the table, four points clear of the Scots. The
only downside from the performance was that Glen Whelan and James
McClean picked up needless yellow cards and would miss the next
match at the Aviva against Germany. Result: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Georgia

Gibraltar v Republic
of Ireland - 4 Sep 2015

The loss by Scotland
in Georgia earlier in the day meant that Ireland could climb into
the play-off (3rd) position in Group D with a victory over minnows
Gibraltar. The Irish duly delivered a 4-0 victory without playing
particularly well. A first half goal from stand-in fullback Cyrus
Christie settled the nerves of the players and fans. An early second
half brace from record scorer Robbie
Keane and a goal from his substitute Shane Long added to the
Irish goal difference.Result: Gibraltar 0-4 Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland v Scotland
- 13 June 2015

With Ireland languishing
in fourth place in the table a home win against Scotland was a must.
Manager Martin O'Neill announced a surprise line-up omitting his
two recognised wingers, McClean and McGeady, and giving Daryl Murphy
his first start in the group matches. Ireland started brightly and
with Wes Holohan offering much-needed creativity it was no great
surprise when Ireland took the lead after 38 minutes. An in-swinging
corner from Brady was met by Murphy's head. Although Scotland's
keeper saved well Jon Walters scored on the rebound- albeit from
an offside position. Unfortunately for the Irish the lead did not
last too long. Within a minute of the kick-off the second half John
O'Shea deflected a Shaun Maloney shot past Given in the Irish goal.Result: Ireland 1-1 Scotland

Republic of Ireland v Poland
- 29 March 2015

The Irish management
had talked about turning the Aviva
Stadium into a fortress in the way that the old Lasndowne
Road had been during the Jack Charlton era. Unfortunately for
the Irish this ideal was derailed after just 26 minutes when Poland's
Peszko struck to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Ireland did not play
well in that first half however they turned it around in the second
half. Ireland dominated as the Poles appeared to settle for their
slender lead. Manager Martin O'Neill sacrificed midfielder Whelan
for an extra striker, Shane Long, with just over five minutes remaining.
As the match entered added-on time Long struck to give Ireland a
well-earned 1-1 draw. Result: Ireland 1-1 Poland

Scotland v Republic of Ireland
- 14 November 2014

Ireland went to Celtic
Park with some optimism that they could, at the very least, avoid
defeat. A positive performance in their last outing against World
champions Germany gave the team and the supporters grounds for hope.
The build up to the match was all about ticket allocation issues
for the travelling Irish fans and how the Scots-born Irish players
(James McCarthy and Aiden McGeady) would be treated by the Scottish
fans.

Just before the kick-off
manager Martin O'Neill dropped something of a bombshell by leaving
captain Robbie Keane on the subs bench for the first time in over
a decade. As it transpired the Irish did not perform to the level
of expectations and the Scots emerged with a deserved three points.
A poor match was embellished by a well-worked training ground move
that brought the decisive goal from Shaun Maloney. He took a short
corner before the ball was fed into Brown who laid it back off to
Maloney who curled it beautifully inside the far post. Result: Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland

Germany v Republic of Ireland
- 14 October 2014

Ireland undertook
a rearguard action to try to contain reigning world champions Germany
in Gelsenkirchen. The Germans dominated possession of the ball and
barring one first half shot that cannoned of the Irish crossbar
the Irish hadn't looked to be under any real threat until the 72nd
minute. Toni Kroos was given too much space at the edge of the Irish
box and he took advantage by crashing a precise shot in off the
upright. Irish keeper David Forde was called into action on a couple
of occasions to keep the Irish in the match. Just when it looked
like the Irish would leave Germany empty-handed stand-in captain
John O'Shea earned
an unlikely point with a last ditch 94th minute strike. A fitting
way for O'Shea to celebrate winning his 100th international cap.Result: Germany 1-1 Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar
- 11 October 2014

Robbie
Keane's third hat trick in the green of Ireland, a brace from
James McClean, a solo effort form man-of-the-match Wes Hoolahan,
and a bizarre own goal by goalkeeper Perez gave Ireland a thumping
victory over the Gibraltarians. This meant the Irish had garnered
full points from their first two qualifiers. On the same night Poland's
2-0 win over World Champions Germany split Euro Group D wide open.
Result: Republic of Ireland 7-0 Gibraltar

Georgia v Republic
of Ireland - 7 Sep 2014

In Ireland's first
competitive match under Martin O'Neill the Irish registered a 2-1
win in Tblisi over Georgia in the first match of the 2016
Euro qualifiers. Everton's Aiden McGeady scored two goals, his
fourth and fifth for the Republic, to secure all three points for
the Irish. The stunning winning goal came in the last minute of
a tight match.Result: Georgia 1-2 Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland v Germany
- 8 October 2015

Nobody gave the Irish
a chance of beating the then current World Cup champions Germany
in the penultimate match of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. Ireland
needed to, at the least, match the result achieved by the Scots
in their match against Poland to ensure a place in the third place
play-offs. Despite living off just 33% of the possession and having
just five attempts on goal, versus 17 by the Germans, Ireland pulled
off the shock of the night. A 70th miinute goal from substitute
Shane Long gave Ireland all three points. Long latched on to a punt
upfield from substitute goalkeeper Randolph and closed in on the
German goal with three German defenders in hot pursuit. A single
touch from Long's left knee controlled the ball and propelled it
forward before smashing it with his right past Neuer in the German
goal. The result meant that, at a minimum, Ireland had made the
thrid place play-offs and could qualify of right by beating Poland
away in the next match.Result: Republic of Ireland 1-0
Germany

Poland v Republic of Ireland
- 11 October 2015

Following on from the heroics of
beating World Champions Germany three days earlier the Irish were
brought to earth by a 2-1 defeat in Warsaw. The defeat at the hands
of the Poles meant that if Ireland was to qualify for the Euro 2016
finals it would be via the third place pay-offs. Goals from Krychowiak
and Lewandowski outweighed Jon Walter's penalty and sent Ireland
to their second defeat in the group. The Irish ended the match with
just ten men as John O'Shea picked up a second yeallow card of the
match in the 92nd minute. A further yellow card for Walters and
an injury to Shane Long would deplete Martin O'Neill's playing resources
for the first play-off match.Result: Poland 2-1 Republic of Ireland